ABSTRACT
The paper describes a laboratory method of initiated microbial cenosis which makes it possible to evaluate the microbiological state of soil and to predict its change under the action of various anthropogenic factors. To this end, the structure and characteristics of a microbial cenosis initiated by a substrate are studied using a scanning electron microscope in combination with classical techniques of microbiology: the actual predominance and proportions of individual microbial groups (bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae, protozoa and microscopic invertebrates); the interaction and interrelation between individual microbial populations in the cenosis; the biological properties of predominating microorganisms; the ratio between active and resting forms; the rate and character of growth of individual microbial populations in the cenosis and their succession. All these indices taken together may serve as a criterion for integral evaluation of the effect produced by various physico-chemical factors on the microbiological state of soil.
